Walking With Grace
by applebombz
Summary: Grace Walker finds herself in the middle of an apocalypse. Her roommate had turned. Then she found a boy hiding in a tree house. Now she needs to figure out how she and Kyle can survive this messed up world. Daryl/OC
1. D Day

Sizzling, burning pain. The smell of tobacco smoke and burning flesh filled his nostrils. Pressure building in his chest and stomach starving for food. The cigarette he held against his hand would most likely blister at that point... Showing no emotion of the burn- feeling more pain inside than on his hand. Pulling the cigarette away, he used his forefinger to brush the ashes away from the wound; flicking the the filter of the cigarette away. Before he could even realize it, his body shook in sobs as his head bowed. He cried for all the people he had lost and almost lost. He couldn't lose anymore people. More importantly, Kyle. He was all he got. He had to stay strong for him... All the lives he had to take to protect the group. All the walkers he took down. What they use to be. What their lives were before all this, Daryl couldn't even fathom the thought of life before the outbreak.

Then he thought about her. He had tried not to, but couldn't get her out of his head. He missed Hershel's farm. It was peaceful while it had lasted. They also had hot meals every night and fresh air. Stars were easy to see from the open fields. It was where he met her... God damn did he miss her...he missed her laugh and her sense of humor... He missed just talking with her...making love with her... She and Kyle brought out the best of him that he never thought he'd show to others. Not even his own brother...

As he stared at the abandoned barn in front of him, he thought back to the bar where he and his brother went to that night Merle got his dumb ass arrested for drug dealing...Before the world went to shit. He did remember seeing her. He never told her he had saw her. She was so cute with her hair pulled into pigtails... He remembered staring at her all night. Times were so different then. He would of never approached someone like her, especially around Merle.

His hand was throbbing like a bitch, but he just kept his gaze on that barn. His sobs had died down and his mind went elsewhere... Back before all this shit.

...

In the town of Fontana, a small town North of Atlanta- just on the corner of the edge of the town, an entire bar broke into brawl. Cheering and whistling as this guy wearing a red Nascar baseball cap and red flannel shirt got knocked out- crashing on top of a table, hitting the floor by some large biker redneck.

"That's right! That's right, _pussy_! Don't even think about getting back up! Yeeeaaahhh!" The redneck screamed, getting the rest of the crowd cheering for him. The man had a blonde buzzcut and wore a black biker vest. His veins were popping out of his neck and forehead as he got seriously red. A smaller man pulled him away and backed him up as the redneck pushes him off and stumbled towards the bar, with a lopsided grin. "Hey sugar! How 'bout another drink!"

He laughed, sticking his tongue out as he high fived one of the other guys. The man was clearly high and intoxicated. He had been making drug deals with some of the drunks in here for the past few hours. It started to get out of hand when one of those drunks slipped those same drugs they got from the redneck and into some girls drink. She had it. She; The bartender of the night, Grace Walker, pretended to accidentally knock over the drink as she wiped the bar. Excusing her clumsiness as the man yelled at her and stomped off. She called the poor girl a cab and stuck her by one of her regulars to watch over her until her ride came. She finally had enough of this guy and she heads to the back office to get her boss to call the cops. She would have done it herself, but Billy doesn't like cops so much and has to approve the situation before he actually needs to. Totally stupid.

Not bothering to knock, she threw open the door and walked in on him making out with one of the other bartenders that was suppose to be working with her, Tina. "The fuck, Grace?!"

"Get this asshole out of here. _**NOW**_."

He grumble in annoyance, leaning his head back against the chair. Tina was giggling as she wiped her smeared lipstick. "They just having some fun, let 'em be."

"Billy. I got a guy in the middle of the floor knocked out cold, drugs being sold left and right and a out of control crowd all because of _One. Drunk._ _ **Redneck**_ _._ Either you get him out, or I'm gonna leave and you're little girlfriend's gonna have to work the rest of the night."

Tina glared at me, but she didn't care. She was fed up letting this happen half of the night. He finally got up, swearing under his breath, pushing Tina away and stormed back outside- shifting himself in his pants.

"You're such a bitch, you know that." Tina mumbled, fixing her blonde hair that was knotted from Billy's hair pulling.

Once again, she ignored her and followed right behind Billy in the bar. Billy went straight towards the obnoxious redneck and at first, asked him to leave. Grace rolled her eyes at how cowardice he was being by trying to ask nicely to this guy. Just as Grace predicted, the redneck puffed up and stood over him. The guy was at most 6ft while Billy stood about 5'5.

"The fuck you gonna do about it?"

"Sir, I'm asking you to leave or I'm going to have to call the cops-"

"Go ahead and call the cops, you little sack of shit!"

Billy then started pushing him out the door, but the man pushed back; screaming at Billy. Our chef, Raymond, and ended up calling the cops. After resisting arrest, they found all kinds of drugs in his pockets. Even a crack pipe. The guy that was with him argued with the cops but ended up leaving in his truck. Grace went back to serving drinks, glancing at the clock as it read 1:43am...

2 hours later... They announced last call half an hour ago and were now closing everything up after another crazy night. As Grace went to clock out her timecard, Tina was still at the bar with Billy, making out on barstools. She rolled her eyes as she headed to the front door, not even bothering with a farewell. Grace wished she could go back to the hospital again; dealing with patients and trying to help them was something she was passionate about. Her grandmother inspired her when she was little. She worked as a CNA at a retirement home in Madison before retiring... She passed away to cancer a couple years ago when Grace became a LPN. Right now she only had this job so she had more time to get her masters. Continuing as a Nurse while going to school was too much. So until she was done, this was her life.

School, work, eat, sleep, **repeat**.

...

The parking lot was almost emptied. Some cars were still parked from the drunks that could drive and had to get a cab- or went home with someone else. By her car; the chef; Raymond was leaning against his car- coughing up a lung... Or two?

"You alright, Ray?" startled, he turns to her and nodded his head with a smile, clearing his throat before he spoke.

"Estoy bein... Just a cold." he replied in his think accent. Raymond came from Mexico with his wife, 7 years ago. Life hadn't been that easy on him, with him and his wife being immigrants. Their son was born here 5 years ago. They didn't know what to do if they were ever deported. Grace couldn't even imagine a life like that. Ray bent over into another coughing fit, wiping his forehead with his sleeve.

"Sounds more than just a cold if you ask me."

"Bah! Nothing my wife cant handle. I got soup at home calling my name."

She smiled, nodding. She tucked her hands into the pockets of her jacket, and looked up at the sky. It was dark, not a lot of stars out as usual. "Alright. I'll see you tomorrow then. Say hi to Marie and little Alejandro for me, kay?"

"Will do, Grace, take care. Oh! And be careful out there. I heard on the radio some crazy putas are acting up all over the place and attacking people." he coughed harshly into his fists, concerning Grace even more as he breathed deeply through his nose. "I'd rethink about getting that gun."

"You know how I feel about firearms. Are you sure you're okay, Ray?" Georgia was hot, yes, but it wasn't soaking wet sweating hot. It was actually kinda chilly tonight for August.

"Just need to get home and take some NyQuil. Be careful getting home, yes?"

She nods, "Will do."

She hesitantly got into her car as she watches Ray leave the parking lot before she follow suit. She got on the road and passed an accident with tons of cops cars, an ambulance and a firetruck. She sees that a sedan had toppled over on the side of the road.

When she arrived at her apartment complex, the light inside was still on. Her roommate must still be up, but when she opened the front door- no one was around.

"Sam?" no answer. Grace locked the door behind her and throws her bag on the wooden coffee table that belonged to her grandmother. "Samantha?" Still nothing... She must of passed out somewhere and left the lights on.

Just as she goes into the hallway, sirens were heard rushing down the street. She heads towards the first door on her left where the bathroom was and the light shining under the crack. There was no water running. Slowly pushes the door open, in case Sam passed out in front of it or something. As she opens the door- it slammed right back in her face!

"What the hell, Grace?!" Grace sighed in relief, grasping her chest to try and calm her startled heart pounding.

"You weren't answering! I thought you passed out or someone broke in!"

"Pff! Nobody ain't gonna come to a private detective daughter's house." she says in her 'southern bell' accent and chuckles, pulling the door back. She was in a towel. Her short red hair pulled up in a hair towel before pushing passed Grace to go change in her room. "Grace, you were a nurse right?"

"You know that I was."

She raised her eyebrow, "Was or is?"

"What am I going to school for?"

"Don't get mean. I forget you were since you don't work as one anymore."

"Yet." She heard Sam groan, annoyed, as Grace went back into the living area and flopped her sore body on the comfy soft couch Sam's dad had bought.

Sam was the daughter of a retired detective, whom happened to be very rich. It's really Sam's place, Grace moved in after leaving her parents house to go back to school. She couldn't afford a place on her own so she moved in with her best friend/old college roomate.

"Can you help me, or not?"

Grace frowned as she pulled her shoes off. Stretching her toes out. "Why, whats the matter?"

Sam rolls her eyes and enters the living room now in her Pj's and sits beside Grace showing her arm.

"Some asshole bit me!"

"The hell? Where at?!"

"The club! The girls and I were just dancing, minding our own buisness. This guy, he was obviously drunk out of his mind. Stumbling around and groaning. He just, like, leaned over and bit me!" she uses her arms to show how she danced, using her hand like a claw to explain the drunk man biting her. "It hurts so bad, Gracieeeee~!"

"Please don't whine. Let me see it." She grabs her arm, gently, examining the bite. It was deep, some of her skin was even coming off! Some blood was gushin out, but not too bad. "Shit Sam..."

"I know, right? It hurts like a bitch..."

"He got you good." Grace went to put her shoes back on before Sam grabbed her arm.

"Can you clean it?"

"Sam, you need stitches."

"I don't want to goto the hospital though!" She cries, "Can you just please clean it up a bit and wrap it or something? Cant you stitch it?"

Grace sighed, taking her shoes back off and heading into the bathroom's closet to grab her emergency aid kit. She came back and told Sam to sit at the dinning table as she put gloves on and gave Sam some pain relievers then began cleaning the wound the best she could.

Once she was done stitching the bite wound, she looks up at Sam to make sure she didn't pass out of anything. She moaned, closing her eyes as she pinched the bridge of her nose.

"You doing okay, Sam?"

"I'm just tired..." she leans her chin on her fist as Grace begins wrapping her arm in gauze. "Thanks sweetie..." she smiles, pulling her into a hug.

As Grace puts everything away and throwing the gloves in the trash, along with all the bloody gauze she used to clean the wounds. "So, how was work?"

"Same old. Some asshole came in selling drugs then started a fight. Ended up knocking the guy unconscious and getting the customers all wild up about it.. . Then we tried throwing him out. I had to threaten to quit my job just so Billy could get this guy out and stop messing around with Tina."

"He's such a pig. I have a hard time visiting you while he's there trying to flirt with me." she says, brushing her red hair back with her hand.

"Anyway... We ended up calling the cops and he was arrested..."

"Really?"

"Yep... Found a crack pipe in his pocket."

"Damn... Who was this guy?"

"Some redneck I've never seen before."

"Was he at least cute?" Grace looked at her with her eyebrow raised as Sam smirked, shrugging her shoulders. "Well? Was he?!"

She shook her head and rolled her eyes, "No. Looked like he was in a biker gang or something."

"OoOoOO, think he could rive up my engine?" she licks her lips, wiggling her eyebrows.

She chuckled, raising her hands in the air as she got up, "Okay. I'm going to bed. now"

"Aww, come on I'm just teasing!"

"Its 4 in the morning. I'm tired and I need to get up for school. I'm going to bed. Goodnight!" she finalized, spinning on her heal; heading down the hallway to her room.

Sam giggled and yelled after her, "Goodnight Doctor Walker!"

"That's Nurse Walker, to you!" she spun around again and pointed at Sam.

…

Grace was awoken up by a loud boom from a distance, along with a car alarm. She sat up quickly then looked to her side at her bedside table to see it was only 6am. She barely got any sleep as is. She figured it was raining outside and it was just thunder. She laid back down, pulling her sheets up over her head to try and go back to sleep. She had a test today and couldn't be falling asleep through it.

Her thoughts were cut off once more when another loud boom echoed the apartment. That was no thunder... She rushed out of bed and ran towards the window to look out. What she saw she couldn't believe. Shocked, she cupped her mouth; from the 3rd floor apartment, she could see the city from her window the city of Atlanta, in FLAMES. What the fuck was happening?!

From a distance could hear Samantha crying out from her bedroom. Grace took off out of her room, slipping as she made a short turn and ran across the hallway to get to Sam and threw open the door. Sam was drenched in sweat and looked pale as she sat up on her bed. She looked like she was dying. She was now worried that her arm had an infection.

"What's happening, Gracie?" she asks as tears were falling freely down her drained face.

"I don't know." She raises her hand to feel Sam's forehead. "You're burning up, Sam. Come on, we're going to the hospital."

She didn't argue as Grace pulled her out of bed and got her dressed and rushed to dress herself, before packing clothes and some food and water in two back packs.

"What was that explosion?!" Sam asked again as Grace joins arms with her and helps her out the door. She could not answer. She had no idea what was happening.

She ran into the kitchen, grabbing the nearest rag and stuck it under the faucet to get it wet. She drained it then whipped it around her head, in the air before placing it on the back of Sam's neck. "Keep that there." she ordered her. That should help the fever a bit.

She grabbed her father's Vietnam army jacket and Sam's brown jacket on the way out. Grace dragged them down the flights of stairs, unlocking her car as she got Sam in the passenger seat and helped her buckle up before getting in the drivers seat and taking off out of the gated apartments.

"Dammit Grace! Tell me what's going on?! What was the explosion?!"

Grace sighed as she drove towards the nearest hospital. " _I don't know!_ There were these explosions that happened in Atlanta-."

"What?! Is it Terrorists?!"

Grace said nothing as she turned the radio on to see if they would say anything;

 _"_ _Here downtown Atlanta people are rioting the streets that have somehow become connected to the recent incidents of a virus that has affect people nationwide. There have been reports of victims affected by the virus have become aggressive and will attack when close. Some reports say that victims who are infected have attacked others by biting and become cannibalistic. Through this, the person bitten by these attacks have shown signs of massive fevers before becoming one of them."_ Grace and Sam looked at each other with large eyes as Sam begins to sob, _"Some witnesses have said that these victims...Appear to be dead. And reanimated into a walking-_ " Grace turned off the radio as they came on the street of the hospital.

The car was silent except for Sam's sobs, "W-what is happening...? People are dead and they're coming back and eating people?!"

"I...I never heard of this. I don't know."

"You're in school for this shit! What the hell is going on?! Am I gonna become one of them?!"

"No! You're going to be fine!"

" **Bullshit** , Grace! You heard that woman! She said they have signs of massive fevers from just a bite! What if they guy that bit me was one of them!?"

"Sam, you just have an infection which is causing your fever! You need antibiotics, _that's all!_ "

Sam gave up and curled her self on the door and cried harder as Grace got to the hospital. The place was filled with people running out as fire was spilling out through the windows. "Oh my god..."

"Holy shit, Grace..."

Grace got out of the car and tried grabbing someone, anyone to tell her what was happening. They all shoved her away and kept running. Then she saw one man, stumbling in a fast pace was coming towards her. He was wearing a hospital gown, his shoulder bandaged and eyes were clouded over as if he were blind.

"Sir can you hel-" the man hissed and grabs her, trying to bite her face as Grace struggles with him.

He pushes her against the car, snapping her jaws at her- growling trying to rip through her jacket. Before she knew it, the man stopped moving completely and fell over. Grace looked down to see a machete sticking out of his head and Samantha panting before falling. Grace caught her before she hit the ground and helped her walk back to the passenger seat. She kicked the corpse away and grabbed the machete before getting back in the car and speeding off.

"Oh my god, that was one of them...W-w-what do we do Grace?!"

Panting with tears in her eyes as she was still trying to get her breathing in check; "Give me a minute..." she says, she was shaking and clutched the wheel til her knuckles were white. "Do you have your phone?"

"Yes?"

"Check to see if there are any..." she inhaled, "any quarantine zones anywhere."

Sam slowly pulls out her phone and began typing on her touch screen. "There's one in Atlanta..."

"Dammit..." Grace had a bad feeling about Atlanta, but took the road to the interstate to get to the city.

Just there luck, it was bumper to bumper traffic. Everyone was getting out of their cars and started yelling at the top of their lungs. The patrol officer nearby was trying to calm him down when someone from the right screamed as one of those things grabs her and bites her right on the neck breaking the flesh! Blood was squirting everywhere as the thing pulls and rips the flesh off her then dives in for more. Horrified, Grace felt vomit coming up into her throat as people rushed back to their cars, crashing into each other. Grace puts the car into reverse and turns the car around. She didn't care if she was now on the wrong side of the road- it was not safe going to the city. She turned to the closest exit and it was all open roads. She hits the gas and sped down the roads.

"Grace! What do we do now?! You're going to fast!"

"We...We gotta find a pharmacy, just somewhere safe!"

" **LOOK OUT!** " Sam cried out. Before Grace could even turn her head, another car crashes right into the drivers side, squealing, flipping the car upside down and knocking the both of them unconscious...

* * *

 **Authors Note:**

Hey guys! Welcome to my new fanfic!

I have been working on this story through notes and such and got inspired to start putting it together and publishing it after I met Norman Reedus recently. xD

I am _extremely_ rusty in writing, so, bare with me?

Also, I had put this up on Mibba under BeyondTheSky (just in case anyone thought I stole it or something). I'm both accounts, so yeah. Check out the one on Stories/Read/612015/Walking-With-Grace/ to see what the characters look like and the pretty banner I made for it.


	2. Stay Safe Be Strong

_7 years ago..._

 _August 10_ _th_ _2003_

At 18 years old in the year 2003, Freshmen in College; Sam had settled in her dorm room for a few days now. It was hard leaving home, mostly her father found it hard. She was his little princess after all. But, she did it! And as she typed away at her computer, trying to write her paper for one of her classes; she was waiting for her roommate. She hoped this girl was not going to be a bitch and trash the room with parties-Don't get her wrong, Sam likes to party. She just does it somewhere else and not where she lived. She made that mistake at 16 when her parents went on a cruise. She invited close friends and their friends, but then everyone just invited everyone and it ended with the house trashed, and her parents coming home wondering where their great grandfathers clock was and why the pool was pink... The only thing she couldn't fix...She didn't know how to empty a pool! The clock was still there, it just didn't work anymore. Now it's just decoration in her dad's office until he goes and tries to fix it.

Cutting off her blast to the past, something- or someone smashed against her door outside and then mutters. When the door opened- a girl her age with a light bronze skin and dark brown almost black hair emerges, carrying 2 suitcases and a large backpack. She literally looked at Sam like a deer in headlights with her hazel colored eyes. Sam chuckles as she pushed her laptop aside and got up to help.

"You must be Grace, right?" she asked,

The girl nodded sheepishly, "Yeah. Samantha right?"

"Please, call me Sam; I cant stand Samantha." she rolled her eyes with a smile letting her know she was joking, "Need help?"

"Yes." she half groans half laughs as Sam pulls her back pack off and helped bring in the rest of her luggage in.

Grace instantly falls backwards on her new bare bed, opposite from Sam's and closes her eyes. Sam notices her sigh of relief and raises an eyebrow. "You carried those bags all the way up here?"

She sighs, "Yep."

" _By yourself?_ "

Grace nods, "It was easier saying goodbye to my mom at home, rather than having her hysterically sobbing here in front of my roommate." she gets up and grabs one of her bags to start unpacking. Sam helped her, forgetting the paper she had going and started putting Grace's things on her side of the room. Then she pulled out a blanket with red, yellow and black patterns woven together.

"This is pretty." Grace looked up from putting her sheets on her bed to see what she was holding.

"Oh. My grandmother, Taima, made that for me when I was little. I usually just use it as a tapestry now." she explains as she tucked the sheets on the corners of the mattress.

"Is this like, Indian?"

Grace chuckles, "Native American." she corrects, "Cherokee to be exact, on my mother's side."

"So you're half Native?"

"Yep." Grace moved on to putting the pillows in the pillowcase. She didn't care about the rest of her stuff right now, she just wanted to sleep!

"That's so cool." Sam was amazed, continuing to stare at the blanket. "So you're dad's white?"

Rolling her eyes with her back to Sam, thinking about messing with her but decided not to, "Yes. He was a photographer traveling across country when he met my mom in Oklahoma. They married, had me before moving to Georgia where he's from... And my grandmother came along."

Sam smiles as she got up and grabbed a chair, grabbing a couple tacks and began hanging the blanket on the wall in the middle of the room where the wall was bare. She stood back, smiling at the tribal patterns then turned to Grace. "What do you think?"

Grace had collapsed on her newly made bed and fell straight to sleep. Sam rolled her eyes and went back to her bed to continue her paper. Glancing now and then at the tapestry with a small grin, loving how it looked. It made the room complete. Well... Despite Grace's unpacked luggage...

...

 _Present..._

It was quiet... All but the tapping nearby her head. With a groan, trying to regain consciousness as Grace pulled her arms towards her chest, hanging upside down from the seat. She hissed when she felt a shock of pain through her left arm. The tapping continued, as well as heavy uneven breathing. She turned her head towards the drivers window to see a face pressing up against it... While some of its flesh remained intact on the window as the man moved and snapped his jaws at her, baring his teeth. This pulled her into reality- the city, the flames, the crash...She turned to the passenger side to see Sam looking right back at her.

"Sam?"

Sam's eyes were clouded over as she hisses and lunges at Grace, trying grab her- snapping, biting the air, even growling. She struggled to unbuckled herself as she tries avoiding her best friend's reanimated _corpse_! After removing the seatbelt, she rolls over so she sat on the overhead then tries kicking the shattered windshield. It took her 5 kicks before she broke through it and crawled out as fast as she could, ignoring the glass puncturing her skin. She stumbled as she stood up on the grass, Sam and the other corpse that was the driver of the other vehicle were still trying to reach her, growling and baring teeth. The driver wasn't going anywhere as he was pinned by his truck at the waist, while Sam was still buckled in her seat. A whimper came from Grace as she shook with silent sobs. She held her arm against her chest before falling on the grass.

She didn't understand anything that was going on. She had never heard of a sickness like this in all her studies at the university. She heard of some incidents but never considered it turning out into an apocalypse! What the hell started this mess? What virus? Was there a cure? Looking around, she found herself in the middle of a four way intersection in the grass a few feet away near a ditch. There was no one around. No cars, no people, not even animals. It was quiet (besides the moaning). She was alone... Knowing that she couldn't stay. That she had to move. She had to leave and find somewhere safe to stay. Taking a few deep breaths; she tries to calm her nerves and find the courage to get up.

She slowly stood with shaky legs and made her way around her flipped car, avoiding Sam as much as possible as she opens the back seat to retrieve her and Sam's bag. It took her a few tugs to get it open, but she managed. She also grabbed the machete Sam had grabbed. Where she found it? She had no clue. And she'll never have a chance to ask. Without it, Grace would probably one of them as well. She tucked it in her belt then pulled the food and water from Sam's bag, stuffing as much as she could into her own. She pulled the bag over her right shoulder, using one of her shirts and a stick to make a makeshift sling to keep her arm straight... She was sure that she had broken it, but had to find shelter to set it properly.

So, with that... Grace leaves her best friend behind and heads down the road with tears rolling down her cheeks.

…

Georgia was being a bitch today as its heat risen in humidity. Grace had took off her father's jacket and tied it around her waist the best she could with one arm. She used some of the water to pour over her head, face and neck to keep herself cool so she didn't have a heatstroke. Before she knew it, she came upon a suburban neighborhood in Smyrna. The place, like everywhere else, was deserted. She was tired, and wasn't sure if she should go downtown and search for any food left in the stores. She continued down the neighborhood, garbage was scattered across the streets and lawns. Some houses were burned, others had graffiti written across the house that read **'Dead Inside'** or **'No Hope'**. It sent shivers down her spine. She still couldn't believe it even though she's seen it. _Dead_...These things were actually _dead_ come back to _life_. This was a nightmare, something from the movies she used to watch as a teenager. She knew this was all real. A horror movie in the making was actually happening and she was terrified to face it all. She heard a growl from behind her as one of those creeps came out from behind a tree in the yard. It looked as though someone tried to shoot it multiple times in the chest where the heart was, but it still moved. It was slow, which was a good thing. Grace could get away easily. Hopefully more wont show.

Cutting through the side of the houses, she ended up facing a 6ft fence blocking her way. The creep was still advancing towards her. Panicking she looked around her to find a way out. She thought about hopping the fence, but with her arm she didn't think she could. That's when she found an opening in the fence. She crawled through the opening then tucked the wooden board back into place. She found herself in a backyard of a 2 story home. The house was a greyish blue with white trimming and perfectly green lawn. There was a tree house but no latter to get up to it. Deciding that this was her safe zone, she approaches the sliding glass door- praying that the door was open. With her luck, it was.

"We got a winner." she heard herself say.

She didn't sound like herself, her voice was raspy from crying so much. She hoped no one was home as she entered the house, closing the door behind her. It was a beautiful home. Modern. Cozy. Everything was still neat like no one had rushed to collect their belongings. Photos were still on the tables and walls. Grace wondered if they was anyone still here...

"Hello?" she called out through the house. No reply. Maybe they weren't here?

She decided she wouldn't stay long if they were nearby, she didn't want to get shot or something. She placed her bag on the couch and pushed a cabinet nearby in front of the front door, barricading herself in; just in case those things can go through doors. She went over to the other side of the house where the sliding glass door was and took in the backyard again. She first looked at the fence where she came through, she could see the creep's shadow through the cracks. It was just scratching the wood but he could not get in. Good. The yard was large. Besides the tree house on the left of the yard, there was a swing set and a slide. So whoever owned this house had kids. That sent an uneasy feeling in Grace's gut. All the kids having to go through this apocalypse. She couldn't think about that. She shook it off and headed back inside to the living area and sat on the couch.

She removed the shirt she had tied and the stick, she took her bag and put the strap in her mouth as she carefully set her arm on the table. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath through her nose- preparing herself as she placed her her over her arm and pulled, setting her arm back in its place. She screamed into the strap and quickly placed the stick back on her arm and wrapped her arm tightly with the bandage. She put her arm back into the makeshift sling and fell backwards.

She sat in silence for a good 30 minutes before her felt her stomach growl. She pulled her bag close to her and looked through. She found a bag of Frito's, she began eating that as she decided to check the place out. She noticed something blinking from the corner of her eye.

On a stand near the kitchen, there laid a answering machine with a red light blinking ***new messages***. Curiosity got the best of her as she pressed the green button to play them.

" _You have 3 new messages. First new message from 678-555-4135 received on May 10_ _th_ _at 6:41PM"_ The machine says as it beeped.

" _Hi Heather, it's Shannon. Calling to see how Kyle is doing and that Hank and I aren't going to be home for a while... There's a safety issue going on in the city so, I hope you don't mind watching him for a bit longer. I'll call back later. Alright, bye."_

" _End of message. Second new message from 678-555-4135 receive on May 10_ _th_ _at 11:08PM"_

" _Heather? It's Shannon again... There's, uh... There's been some kind of lock down in the office so we can't leave... Uhm... We're not sure what's happening. Something about, oh I don't know... Just, stay inside with the doors locked and don't let anyone in. Okay?"_

" _End of message. Third new message from 678-555-5698 received on May 11_ _th_ _at 3:45AM"_

Grace could hear screams, crashes and banging in the background, _"Kyle?! Kyle it's mommy and daddy!"_ a male voice said as more bangs and cries along with moans from the background.

" _Kyle, I'm so sorry we were not home as much as you wanted us."_ The woman from before cried.

" _Just know, son, that we love you so much! So much! You are such a smart young boy and I could not be more proud of you."_ The male voice crack. Another crash came as people began screaming- flesh could be herad being torn apart,

" _Oh my god!_ " the woman cried,

" _Kyle...Stay safe. Be strong."_ the man said, in a quiet tone.

" _We love you, Ky-"_ the woman voice was cut off as the line went dead.

" _End of messages._ "

Grace stood there horrified at what she just heard... There was a kid here along with his babysitter... And his parents... There was no way they made it out alive... From the sound of it, wherever they were, they were torn apart by those things... One thing was left unclear though...

Where was the kid and the sitter?

Walking backwards away from the machine, into the kitchen; the floor was wet and she almost slipped and fell. She looked down wondering if the sink was leaking, only to find a puddle of blood laid before her feet.

"Oh shit! Oh shit! Shit!" she stumbled away, slipping again before latching herself near the counter.

There was so much blood, and she's seen a lot of blood when she was a nurse. She didn't even realize the trail it left from the front door to the kitchen. But no bodies... Grace didn't want to see them walking around as those creeps. She cant even picture one of them being a child. Then, out of the silence and panicking panting from Grace was a static noise coming from somewhere in the kitchen...Along with a small voice...

" _Hello?...Lady?"_

Grace shrieked, spinning around to find where the voice was coming from.

" _Lady...? Hello?"_ the voice said again, _"I know you're there."_

Grace looked at the corner of the kitchen, beside the window in the corner by a jar of cookies- laid a walkie talkie with a sticker of a smiley face and a bat hitting a baseball. Hesitantly, she approached the talkie and brought it close to her. "W-who is this?" she stuttered, trying to compose herself.

A 'bleep' noise was made, ending her response as she heard the static again, _"M...Mine name is Kyle..."_

"Kyle..." She whispered to herself. The kid was okay. Holy shit. She pressed down the button again and spoke quietly into it, "I'm Grace... Where are you, Kyle?"

" _In the tree house, outside."_ from the kitchen window that showed the backyard, Grace could see through the tree house's window a head of blonde hair.

She smiled up at him as she saw him peek over, "Why don't' you come down and come inside?" she asked, as she see the boy duck back down.

" _I...I-I can't... She's in there..."_ he stuttered nervously.

Confused, she brought the talkie back to her and asked gently, "Who?"

She waited for his reply, keeping an eye on the tree house window as she heard the static once more, _"Heather...My babysitter... But...S-she...She isn't Heather anymore..."_

Grace's blood ran cold as she brought her focus back to the pool of blood on the floor...She cursed in her head as she notice that the blood also trailed towards the pantry... Like someone had dragged themselves there.

"Do you know exactly where she is...?"

" _In the pantry..."_

Grace almost dropped the talkie as she slowly returns back into the living room, keeping a close eye on the pantry door and went to retrieve the machete... She returned to the kitchen, quietly setting the talkie on the counter. Avoiding the blood on the floor, she walks forward with the machete out in front of her as she approaches the pantry.

" _No! Don't go in there!"_ the boy whispered/yelled into the talkie.

Her heart was pounding rapidly in her chest that she could almost hear it. The more she got closer, the more she could hear it. She took a deep breath and counted to herself, "1...2..." She places her hand that was holding the machete, on the handle, "3!" she pulled the pantry open and pointed her weapon at anything inside.

Nothing was there... Relief filled her as she sighed, but instantly became annoyed. She flips the machete in her hand so she could also pick up the talkie by the fingers, "Are you pulling my leg, kid?!" she yelled into the talkie, walking away from the pantry.

" _Behind you!"_

Before Grace knew it, a female creep charged at her from behind and knocks her over on the ground! Snapping and growling at her trying to bite her. The creep that use to be Heather had a large bite wound on her neck, the blood soaked most of her blouse which would explain all the blood as Grace held her at arms length. She had dropped the talkie along with the machete on the way down. There was no way to reach it when she couldn't even use her broken arm. Death was staring right in her face, ready to chew it off her bones.

Her arm was getting weak from holding the creep away from her. Just when she thought she had lost her strength- her machete slammed into the creeps head, splitting it in two- stopping her movements and slumped on top of her. Some brain matter splatted across her face and neck- shoving her off; Grace crawls backwards into the closest wall, looking over to whoever killed it... There stood a small boy with blonde hair and big green eyes, wearing a baseball tee with red sleeves, jeans and red Adidas hightop sneakers; frozen in spot, frightened at what he just did... Grace stood up, looking at the corpse then at the kid and turned his head away gently, putting her foot on the corpses back to take the machete out of its head. Her head smacked against the floor with a sloppy noise that sent shivers down their spine. Grace then lead boy out of the kitchen and sat him down on the couch by her bag.

She noticed the sliding glass door was open and quickly went over and closed it, still worried about that corpse that chased her in here. She returns back to the boy whom was shaking profusely, obviously traumatized at what just happened. Grace kneeled down before him on her knees. She ducked her head to meet his eyes and get him to look at her. When he did, she could see he was trying very hard not to cry.

"Kyle... Are you alright?" she asked as the boy gulped before nodding his head slowly, blinking rapidly to stop his eyes from watering. She smiled, "You saved my life... That was really brave... Thank you."

"Y-y-your welcome..." he bit his bottom lip. The boy was one tough kid. And he didn't look that old either. Maybe 6? 7? Around there. She gently rubbed his forearm which got him to relax a bit.

"I'm sorry you had to do that..."

He shook his head and shrugged, "You looked nice, so..." She chuckled, smiling for the first time since this all began. She brushes his bangs to the side. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine." she replied, as he frowned.

"But you're arm..." he pointed her arm that was in the makeshift sling.

She nods, "Yeah... It'll heal though... I hope." she whispered quietly on the last part.

He sniffled, rubbing his nose on his sleeve. "W-we should go back to the tree house... It's not safe in here."

Grace thought for a moment and nodded in agreement. "Okay... But only for a little while... We would have to leave and find others who can help us."

"Do you think they can help find my parents? They're in Atlanta... I'm not sure if they made it though... On the news, it didn't look so good..."

She was expecting the kid to burst into tears, but he held it in which worried her. The one thing she hated people doing was keeping their emotions bottled in. It wasn't good for them. You cant keep filling a tub when its overflowing. He needed to let go and grieve... But for now she let it slide. Right now they needed a place to sleep tonight.

"Okay... but lets look around the house for food, water, medicine. Is there any?"

"I-I think so..."

"Alright. Show me."

Kyle slowly jumped off the couch and led her around the house in search of supplies. They found some of his mother's pain killers and some antibiotics in their master bath. Kyle then showed Grace where his dad kept his guns. She took the handgun and all the bullets it had in the night table and stuck the gun on the back of her pants. They grabbed some canned food and water from the kitchen then went back outside towards the tree house. It had a rope ladder which was good. They can pull it up and not have to worry about anything climbing up.

Kyle went up first, carrying his small backpack filled with the canned food and water as Grace adjusted her bag on her shoulder and climbed the ladder after he made it up. She struggled, only climbing with one arm, but managed to make it to the top. Kyle pulled up the ladder then shut the hatch after pulling it inside. The tree house was surprisingly roomie, but still small. On the small crate were a bunch of comic books, action figures of a super hero by one of the windows. A poster of a baseball player from the Atlanta Braves was hung on the wall while a baseball bat fit for a kid like Kyle; laid against the corner.

"We should be safe here from the monsters." Kyle says, rolling up the rope ladder neatly and took his bag to the corner of the room where he started putting the food and water in another small crate.

He turns to Grace after organizing everything, worried as she sat by the window trying to get comfortable. Nervously, Kyle bit his lip and tucked his knees up to his chest.

"How long do you think we should stay here..?" he asked, nervously.

She thought for a moment, closing her eyes and leaned her head back against the wall. They definitely couldn't stay here long, it was only a matter of time before the wrong kind of people would find them there. And she knew there would be desperate people.

"Not long, I'm afraid... We have to go soon and find others..." Kyle nodded sadly, laying his head on his knees. "But we wont have to worry about that til tomorrow, okay?" He nods his head once more and mumbles an 'okay'.

They ate a can of green beans and some canned chicken/pork sausages as night came and they went to bed. As Grace watches over the boy, sleeping peacefully beside her. She runs her fingers gently through his blonde slightly greasy hair as she thought up a plan on tomorrow. The journey for them was going to be tough as hell, but she knew in her heart; she was going to do everything she can to keep this boy safe and alive.

* * *

 **A/N:**

Chapter 2 done! Yay!

Hope this was okay? I'm going by the year The Walking Dead series started, which was 2010, in case anyone got confused.  
I'm gonna try and update weekly, every Friday. Hope this was good.  
I also have this story on Mibba under BeyondTheSky. 1 person 2 account names so nobody thinks it's copy writing. lol.  
Please let me know what you think! I know my writing is sloppy, I need to work on it a bit more. Stay tuned!


	3. Knock, Knock

A school bell rang across campus at 3:30pm, letting all the elementary school kids know that school was over and pour out of their classrooms in a rush. Kids waited on the steps for their parents to pick them up as some took the bus home. Some rode their bikes and some walked. A blonde boy 6 years old, soon to be 7 in a couple months, sat up against a pole by the front of the school; waiting for his babysitter to pick him up. His parents were lawyers in Atlanta and rarely were around after school due to work. Today was one of those days, and as Kyle waited, he read one of his favorite comic books. **Red Fang** a super hero whom seems like a bad guy with instincts like a snake in a gothic themed world. There were video games and action figures that he had at home. The comics were for kids 13+, however, they were his parents way of saying sorry for not being around. Kyle was use to it.

A half hour went by and Heather still wasn't here. Heather was a 19 year old online college student that moved in with her friend after graduating High School. She worked at a grocery store and would get off at 12, go home, go to the house and then come pick him up and walk him home. It was now 4:45pm, some teachers were now going home and she still was not here... Kyle decided then to just walk home himself. He knew he wasn't suppose to, but he didn't want the teachers to come and bring him back inside.

It felt weird to walk home alone, especially when kids were being forced inside their homes rather than play with the other kids. Kyle looks up at a father placing bags and suitcases in the back of his SUV. He stopped when he notices Kyle, and sighs frustrated before slamming the hatch and went inside to get his family. Kyle went back to walking as he got to his neighborhood, there were more people like that man rushing to get in their cars and leaving. He was confused, the people were panicking as he sees one of the teenage boys spray paint his house, _**NO HOPE**_. Kyle began running down his street as he made it to the front door, he took his key out and unlocked it before shutting the door behind him and locking it. He notices red dots on the wooden floor by his feet.

"Heather! I'm home!" he calls out, but no one answered.

The drops trailed across the floor to the kitchen as he follows, there on the floor, he finds Heather; laying in a pool of blood- holding a bloody rag against her neck. Her breathing was scarce and she looked pale from the loss of blood. Her brown skin was now a sickly pale and clammy from sweating so much.

"Kyle..." she mutters weakly.

"I-I'll go get help!" he stutters, dropping his bag to run back out the door.

"No, Kyle don't!" she cried out. "Don't go outside..."

Kyle drops down next to her, he didn't know what to do. This was like his comic books when Red Fang had carried his girlfriend to the hospital after his nemeses beaten her up! But he was not Red Fang, he couldn't carry her to a hospital.

"What...What can I do?"

Heather sat up a bit, rubbing her sweaty forehead and tried standing. She was too weak as she got to her knees. "Grab some water from the fridge and the lunchables and go hide..."

"But why?"

"Don't argue with me on this, Kyle- just do it!" she collapsed back on the ground.

Kyle didn't argue this time with her. He went over to the fridge and grabbed some water, he didn't know where to put it so he ran back to his backpack and dumped everything on the dinning table before going back to the fridge and put the waters in. And some soda, juice packs and lunchables. He decided to look in the pantry to see if there was anything he could bring for him and Heather. He packed what he thought was enough and returned to the kitchen to find Heather asleep...

"Heather! Heather I got it, lets go!" He rushed over and tugs on her arm. She didn't move though. And he almost thought she wasn't breathing until he sees her chest moving, her breathing sounded more gaspy but ignored it as he kept trying to get her to wake up. "Come on, Heather! Stop being stupid!"

When Heather opened her eyes, Kyle knew there was something different. Heather's eyes had glazed over like a cloud and she sat up without struggle. He steps away from her as she growls at him and tries grabbing his ankle. He dodges her and runs to the other side of the kitchen, watching her stand up. The rag she held was forgotten as she drags herself limply towards him, he dodges her again. This wasn't Heather, she was a monster! He thought quickly and dove into the pantry. She snarled and followed him in, closing in on him as he was trapped in the corner. Heather advanced towards him, arms out to grab him! He remembered Red Fang dodging his nemesis and slid under her in time just like Red Fang and shut the door behind her! He cried as he grabbed his bag and ran out through the sliding glass door, shutting it behind him and climbed up the tree house. Reaching the top, he pulled up the latter then slamming the door down so no one could get up to him... He about fell into the corner of the house and curled up into a ball, hyperventilating.

He shut his eyes tightly, hoping that this was just a dream and he would wake up with his parents home having breakfast... He wanted his mom and dad. He wanted this nightmare to end and the monster Heather turned into to go away.

 _Present..._

The sun began to rise over the house, shining in through the small window of the tree house. Kyle stirred in his sleep as he felt the warmth of the sun over his face and a small nudge on his shoulder. He had almost forgotten about the woman that came over...Grace. His eyes fluttered open as he stretched on his side. He turns his head to look at the woman that watched over him. She smiled kindly and brushes some of his hair away.

"Come on, kid. We gotta get go..."

Kyle instantly felt his heart drop... That means they had to leave his home. He knew his parents were gone... And Heather was gone too. It was just Grace. He trusted her. And as much as he didn't want to leave his tree house, he got up and started putting his shoes on.

He followed Grace down the rope latter and went inside the house one last time to collect some clothes and a jacket. It was not winter yet, but he would need it when it comes. Grace pushes the table that she blocked the front door with then looks out the decorative glass on the sides to see if anything was around.

When the close was clear; Grace turns to Kyle and sighs. The kid looked around the living room for awhile as Grace gave him space. He was so young and he had to deal with all this shit. She waited for a few minutes, seeing that he let out a few sobs before rubbing face with the end of his shirt. She placed a hand on his shoulder and kneeled down to his level. "You alright?" He nods his head before lifting it to look up at her. His eyes were bloodshot and he let out a small sniffle. She smiled, standing up and opening the front door. She went out first and Kyle close behind as they headed down the street.

Grace had decided to head south of Atlanta, near Senoia. They would need a car to head down there. They walked back to the intersection where Grace crashed, seeing that Sam was still there only now looked more rotted and melting from the heat... Grace stopped in her tracks and motioned Kyle to wait. She approached what was her best friend, and kneeled down in on the passenger side... She opened the door, tugging a few times to get it to open wide enough for her to get to Sam. The smell was so bad that she had to cover her nose with her shirt. Sam squeaked and moans weakly than before, her bottom lip was drooping so her teeth were more visible. Grace brushed her stinging nose against her sleeve before pulling the gun from the back of her pants and lifted it up to Sam's head. Her left hand wasn't her dominant, but she still shook out of grief at what she was about to do. She looked into Sam's clouded grey eyes, that were once brilliant bright blue, with tears filling up her eyes as she took a deep, shaky breath.

"Bye Sam..."

 _ **BANG**_

…

"Knock, knock."

"What are you doing?"

"Passing time. _Knock, knock_ "

"This is stupid!"

"It's not stupid, now come on! Knock, knock"

Kyle rolled his eyes, "Who's there..."

"Iva."

"Iva who?"

"I've a sore hand from knocking!" he tried not to smile, but she caught him cracking one and fist pumped, "Gotcha! Good one, eh?"

"It's still stupid."

She got him to smile. It was always once in a while, but she got him to. Its been a couple days since leaving Smyrna, they got to the next town. Apparently they can hear, so after Grace shot Sam in the head- it attracted a dozen of them so they had to haul ass outta there. Kyle still hadn't said anything about that situation. She looked over at him to see his head was down again, keeping to her side. Every once in a while he'll look around before looking down at his red shoes.

"You got any jokes?"

"Not really..."

She tsk'd at him, "No fun. Okay. I got another one for you." she watched him sigh, grinning and waited for her next joke. "Knock, knock."

"Who's there?"

"H."

"H who?"

"Bless you." he shook his head but his grin was widening. "One more, one more!"

"Fine! One."

Jeez, who was the kid now? Grace was jumping up and down, begging the 6 year old to let her tell him another knock knock joke. "Knock, knock."

"Who's there?"

"A little old lady."

"A little old lady who?"

She stopped them from walking- placing a hand on his shoulder looking shocked, "I didn't know you can yodel!" she tried sounding amazed. That got him. His little giggles were contagious as they both bent over in giggles.

"I like that one."

She ruffles his hair and pulled him by her side, continuing down the road. "You got any jokes?"

"Uhm..." he thought for a second. "I heard a kid in my class tell a joke once."

"Well...Come on! Lets hear it!"

"Uh... What do you call a fake noodle?"

"I don't know? What?"

"An impasta!"

"That was good!" she giggled.

"Its stupid." he smiled, "It's just taking a word that sounds same."

"That's the point! They're fun! They're puns." She wiggles her eyebrows as he rolled his eyes again. He was still smiling.

It was progress. She hoped to get him to open up some more. The only way she knew how was using her tricks from when she babysat as a teen and what she learned when she dealt with kids in the pediatrics office in her early days as a LPN before becoming an RN in a Memorial Hospital in Atlanta.

The street that they were on lead them to a small shopping center. Grace looked through the window of a store finding it empty...Well... Except for the creep that just jumped in front, startling Grace as she took a step back. Kyle nibbled on his bottom lip, looking up at her. Its been a couple days and they haven't found anyone yet. Grace looked back at him, and through their silent exchange she took a deep breath and headed towards the entrance. Kyle followed and helped by opening the door, they waited for the creep to get close before Grace took the machete and whacked the creep in the head and pulled- splitting the creep's head in half before it slumped to the floor. It was quiet, up and personal attack that wouldn't attract anymore nearby. She was still trying to get use to using her arm for hitting them hard enough to puncture the brain. They've learned that nothing will kill them unless you destroy the brain, when Grace tried cutting off ones head yesterday- it was still moving even without a body!

They got inside and checked the place for anything. The place was obviously an auto part place. The smell of tires and oil filled the store. Next door there was a dollar store that they could check out, but it was hard to tell if anything was in there.

"Find anything?" Grace called out quietly, but loud enough for Kyle to hear.

Shrugging his shoulders, "I don't even know what I'm looking for."

"Maybe something you could use defend yourself? Like a crowbar? Hammer?"

Kyle came around the corner to meet Grace at the end of her aisle, holding up a sludge hammer. "How about this?" he tries lifting.

She shook her head, chuckling, "Maybe something you can lift easier. Put that down before you hurt yourself."

He groans and goes back to where he found it. Grace took her time walking down each aisle. A lot of the products were emptied off the shelves, some remain the floor. Some oil had broke from the bottle and spilled all over the floor. "Hey kid, careful where you step. Okay?"

"Okay!" she still couldn't get over how cute he was. His voice reminded her of a chipmunk.

Grace was glad she had found Kyle when she did. Not that she was happy that he has to adapt to this kind of lifestyle! Hiding and running from the creeps, watching them turn, killing them. An apocalypse was no place for a 6 year old. He wont have a normal childhood like she had. So far he's been handling it very well... Sort of...

She walked up to the desk to see all the candy, chips, drinks that they had displayed were all gone. Figures. She spies a pack of watermelon flavored gum and stuff that bad boy in her pocket. Even the cash register was open and emptied out. No body is going to need money anymore. She remembered hearing about riots in different cities- never really understanding their reason for it. She was never really into watching TV or playing video games. She use to with her ex, yeah, before they broke up and she focused on school. Almost wanting to kick herself for not watching the news, she would have been prepared. Sam would still be alive...But then what about Kyle? He'd still be in that tree house...

"Hey Grace! I thought of another joke!"

"Let me hear it."

"Knock, knock!" she heard his little giggle.

"Who's there?"

"Orange!" _'ah, the classic.'_

"Orange who?"

"Knock, knock!"

Shaking her head. ' _This will take a while...'_ "Who's there?"

"Orange!"

"Orange whoOoOoo~?" she sang. Setting Kyle into another giggling fit and it was fricken' adorable!

"Knock, knock!"

"Who's there?!" a deep voice called out before she could answer.

They were too into their little game to even hear the store's bell ring! Grace got down and crawled over to the next aisle where Kyle went and found him on the ground as well, covering his mouth. Placing a finger to her lips, she motions him to keep quiet and to follow her. They went behind the desk and hid. She wrapped her arms around him, keeping his mouth covered so they wouldn't hear him pant.

The steps came closer and closer, Grace could hear her own breath shaking and bites her bottom lip. Just because they have been looking for people, does _not_ mean all people are good people. They stayed like that until Kyle moved, hitting her in the arm making her groan in pain.

"Hello?" a man called out again. He had a slight southern accent.

Holding up and cocking what sounded like a gun... A _shotgun_! _'Oh shit...'_ she cursed in her head. They only had 3 chances of getting out.

Stay where they are and hope they leave. Doubt that.

They could sneak past them. Probably get caught.

Surrender. Not happening.

Kyle looked up at her terrified, waiting for her to do something just as the footsteps got closer.

"Is it one of them things, Daddy?" asked as small voice of a girl with a the same accent. _'Wait. What? A little girl?!'_

"Just stay back, okay sweetpea?" _'Sweetpea?!'_

Kyle and Grace both looked at one another with large eyes before Kyle sits up, "We're alive!" he cries. "Don't shoot!" god damn that boy...

Grace stands on her knees and looks over the desk to see a man in a white sweaty undershirt and a beige button up flannel that's seen better days. He had dirty blonde straggly hair tied in a low ponytail and a mustache. He was very tan, like he was baked in the sun from working outside a lot. Behind him was a girl about 10 years with pixie short brown curly hair, wearing shorts and a dark blue shirt with a pink heart on it. Kyle tugged Grace up, careful not to grab her bad arm by grabbing a hold of her shirt. She pushed Kyle behind her as the man's face softens from its tense face, lowering his gun til it pointed to the ground. Now she can breathe.

"Well I'll be damned... Sorry...We thought you were one of them things." the man says as his daughter stepped forward and stood behind her dad.

"Yeah...Ditto." She and Kyle came from behind the desk- Kyle latched onto her back side making it hard for her to walk properly. "I'm sorry...We haven't seen people for days, it's..." the man smiled, nodding his head.

"It's fine... Tell you the truth, we haven't seen people since the outbreak either. We've been driving from Florida, our car broke down. Dead battery. So we were just here to look for one."

"We just got here...For shelter."

"Is it just the two of you?" he asks.

She nods. "Yeah..."

"What happened to your arm?" the little girl pointed, stepping out from behind her father.

"Got in a accident when this all happened. Broke it. Should be okay after 6 weeks."

"Ah..." nods the man. "At least you weren't bit..."

Mentioning biting made her think about Sam... She wondered if there was another way to save her? Cleaning the wound didn't work. Can't even think about dismembering her arm. That thought sent cold chills down her spine.

"Well...I'm Jerry, this is my daughter Susie." he introduce themselves as Susie waved.

"I'm Grace and this is Kyle." Kyle waved back as well.

"Is he your kid?" he asked.

Grace hesitated for a bit before she shook her head, "No, he's a friend though." Pushing Kyle's hair back away from his eyes.

The man smiles, "Well...It's nice to meet ya'll..."

"Batteries are over here, I think?" Kyle points to the aisle he found the sludge hammer and points at the rows of car batteries on the top shelf.

The man laughs, placing the gun on his shoulder- keeping his hand away from the trigger part as he found the one he needed and grabbed one...

"This'll do! Thanks kid." he ruffled Kyle's hair and returns looking up to Grace, "This is all I'm here for."

"Great. Hope it gets you to wherever your heading to."

"Thank you."

Taking Kyle's small hand, they headed out the door. Not before something caught her eye. Letting go of his hand to picked up the crowbar then handed it to the 6 year old. Oh god that sounded like child neglect. Giving a 6 year old a crowbar. Damn this world was messed up. They stood outside. There were a couple of creeps roaming about the street, they could easily pass them without them getting near.

"Do you know where we should go?" asked Kyle.

"No idea, kid."

"You're more than welcome to come with us. We've been looking for more people to group with." The Florida man, Jerry and his daughter emerges from the auto store. "We were heading to North Carolina where some of our family is, but, we decided to head to Fort Benning. It would ease my conscious if you came with us."

Kyle's eyes lit up as he looked at Grace for her response. "We'd be happy to come. Thank you!"

"Cool!" Susie claps.

"Alright, lets get going..." Jerry looks down at Kyle's new crowbar as he chuckles, "I got a knife you can have in the truck. Come on."

Kyle instantly drops the crowbar. "Really?"

…

So... Grace and Kyle join Jerry and Susie on there way to Fort Benning. It was a start, at least they weren't alone anymore. Kyle and Susie walked together ahead of them but stayed close enough. Susie was talking Kyle's ear off, something about hunting back in Florida. Grace had started realizing how mature Kyle was for his age, he dealt with everything better than she did to be honest.

"So, what did you do before all this?" Jerry asks, keeping his shotgun out in case a creep came.

"I was a student, going in for my masters in Nursing."

"That's handy. I reckon that's why you patched yourself up real good." he motions her injured arm. He was impressed.

"It was the best I could do." she shrugged.

"Eh, well. You make due with what you got."

They've reached an old green Ford pickup truck with it's hood lifted up. Susie immediately goes inside the small back seat while Jerry went straight to the engine and began replacing the battery. Grace knew nothing of cars so she felt a little useless in this department. Kyle was over by Susie listening to her ramble about gators or something? By the look on his face- he wasn't interested about reptiles invading peoples pools in Florida.

"So why Fort Benning?"

"Well... For one it's secured. They got guns, beds, food, tanks! I mean, _**big**_ ass tanks. Ones that can run over this ol' truck. I think it's a good shot to check it out. I mean, there ain't much out here."

She couldn't argue with that. It didn't take him long to change the battery out. He shuts the hood and brushes the oil on his pants. "That'll do it. Ready to go kids?"

"Yeah!" Susie cries, excited as they all got into the truck and took off.

"Got your seatbelt on, kid?" she asks Kyle.

"Do I really need it?"

"Uh, yeah. Put it on, dude!" he sighs dramatically and puts his seat belt on, with Susie's help since he was having trouble clicking it in.

"Y'know for someone who isn't a mother, you sure have that tone of one." Jerry complemented her (she thinks) then started the truck, howling in success as it came to life. Jerry howled with it before putting it in drive.

Grace can finally relax and ease her mind. They had a plan and they had a destination. There were also more of them which was perfect. She had no idea where Fort Benning was or how far it is. What was it like there right now? How many people were there? Would there be enough room for them to join? Or at least take the kids.

She pushes those thoughts in the back of her head, trying not to raise her anxiety about it. She leans back and looks behind her to see Kyle was trying not to fall asleep. She reached behind her to place her hand on his knee. He looked up at her with heavy eyes as she gave him a nod to let him know it was okay to fall asleep. With that, he was out like a light. Poor kid. She decided to get some shut eyes as well. Leaning her head against the windshield, she fell asleep to the noisey truck's engine rattle and the bumps on the road.

* * *

 **Authors Note:**

Hey guys! Sorry, I did say I'd update every Friday but I might have to change scheduling a bit. I'm gonna say I'll update on weekends. The next few chapters I'm gonna be working on will probably not make it next week, maybe it will. I don't know? I actually wanted to write more in this chapter, but I couldn't get what I wanted written down, so bare with me!

What do you think about Jerry? Good guy? Bad guy? Imagine him as Matthew McConaughey in True Detective when he had long hair and that mustache.

Thank you guys for Favorites and Follows to this story!


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